CBS drops suit against ABC over Glass House' show

FILE - This June 18, 2012 file photo released by ABC shows contestants Apollo, left, and Jeffrey, during the premiere episode of "The Glass House." CBS announced Friday, August 17, 2012 that it was dropping its lawsuit against ABC over the series ěThe Glass House,î saying viewership numbers had rendered the case moot. CBS had sued claiming the series copied its hit show ěBig Brotherî and infringed its copyrights, but a judge refused to block the new series and it never caught on with viewers. (AP Photo/ABC, Nicole Wilder, file)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — CBS dropped its lawsuit Friday against ABC over its reality series “The Glass House,” citing the show’s low viewership numbers as a reason it is no longer interested in the case.

The CBS network said it will continue to pursue its claims that top producers on the new series violated confidentiality agreements from when they worked on CBS’ hit series “Big Brother.” Those efforts will continue in private arbitration, not a federal courtroom where the rival networks have handled the case since it was filed in May.

CBS claimed the show copied “Big Brother” too closely.

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A judge refused to grant CBS’ request to block the show’s broadcast, saying the unpredictable nature of reality television meant that the two shows were likely to be very different, despite some similarities in their format.

The season finale of “Glass House” is scheduled to air on Monday. Only 1.6 million viewers tuned in to the Aug. 6 episode.

“The viewers have spoken and delivered the ultimate form of justice against `The Glass House,”’ CBS wrote in a statement released Friday.